People will go into the holes in the ground and the cracks in the rocks because they fear the Lord and his great power as he stands to shake the earth.
“I will soon send for many fishermen to come to this land.” This message is from the Lord. “They will catch the people of Judah. After that happens, I will send for many hunters to come to this land. They will hunt the people of Judah on every mountain and hill and in the cracks of the rocks.
They will crawl in the dust like a snake. They will shake with fear. They will be like insects crawling from their holes in the ground and coming to the Lord our God. God, they will fear and respect you!
So the Lord brought commanders from the king of Assyria’s army to attack Judah. These commanders captured Manasseh and made him their prisoner. They put hooks in him and brass chains on his hands and took him to the country of Babylon.
You will know these people because of what they do. Good things don’t come from people who are bad, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from thorny weeds.
I will turn my vineyard into useless land. No one will care for the plants or work in the field. Weeds and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.”
People once worked the soil and grew food on these hills, but at that time they will not go there, because the fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. It will be a place where cattle graze and sheep wander.”
Large cypress trees will grow where there were thornbushes. Myrtle trees will grow where there were weeds. All this will happen to make the Lord known, to be a permanent reminder of his goodness and power.”